Background

As a part of its Education and Training Programme, WMO organizes, once every four years, a worldwide Symposium on Education and Training (SYMET), which is normally attended by educational and training experts from WMO Regional Training Centres (RTCs), National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), development partners and other institutes involved in meteorological, hydrological and climatological education and training. Following the recommendation of the Sixty-Eighth WMO Executive Council Session (EC-68) (Geneva, June 2016) to organize one such Symposium during the current Financial Period, I am pleased to inform you that at the kind invitation of the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO), the Thirteenth WMO Symposium on Education and Training (SYMET-XIII) will be held from Monday, 30 October to Wednesday, 1 November 2017 in Bridgetown, Barbados. The main theme of the Symposium is Education and Training for Human Resource Development in Meteorological and Hydrological Services.

The WMO education and training community are being tasked to improve the skills, knowledge and working methods of personnel, who through improved observing networks and a better use of meteorological and hydrological information and data, are required to produce forecasts and services that will result in greater safety of life and property and contribute to sustainable socio-economic development. Consequently, the ultimate aim of SYMET is to assist the international community as a whole, in particular the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, to meet current meteorological and hydrological education and training challenges and those that are foreseen to arise over the next five to ten years.

Overall goal

The general goals of SYMET-XIII are to stimulate and facilitate the development of a vibrant and robust education and training capacity within the worldwide meteorological and hydrological community and to recommend possible new avenues for development. Our key objectives will be: Enhancing Service-specific Education and Training needs; Increasing Education and Training Capacity, and focusing on Partnership and Resource Mobilization. We intend to achieve these objectives by engaging the heads of meteorological/hydrological training institutions in discussions that address key education and training topics aimed at helping WMO Members enhance their capacity to meet needs for weather, climate, water and related environmental services and information in order to manage environmental risks.

The programme outline was put in place proposed after extensive consultation illustrates the key topics. A number of suitably qualified lecturers are being invited to present keynote papers, and additional contributed papers are sought. Panel, round-table and working group discussions will be encouraged to allow as many participants as possible to share their expertise on the critical issues. Electronic or traditional poster presentations, particularly for case-study papers, are encouraged. Plenary presentations are expected to be accompanied by simultaneous interpretation, but English will be the working language in many breakout group interactions. Due to limited time available for discussion during the symposium, three thematic papers will be available for online discussions on the Symposium website prior to the Symposium. The online forum will also give additional opportunity for inputs from those who are not able to attend.

Programme outline

Theme I: Service-specific education and training needs

Focus areas

Education and training needs in the context of WMO priority areas up to 2019.

Capacity development on Climate Services, DRR, WIGOS, Aviation, Polar and High Mountain, Urban and other WMO priority areas.

Continuous education to keep pace with developments in science and technology.

Enhancement of research capability, building research competencies, and bringing science into curricula.

Development and implementation of appropriate competency frameworks and updating expected learning outcomes appropriately.

Requirements for the institutional and global infrastructure to support education and training, including WMO Regional Training Centres and WMO Global Campus.

Exchange of experience and competencies through exchange of human resources and dissemination of good practices promoting stronger connections to WMO technical and research programmes.

Development of increased opportunities for cooperation, coordination, and sharing via the WMO Global Campus.

New approaches to training delivery.

Theme III: Partnership and Resource mobilization

Focus areas

Collaboration with international organizations and partners in the implementation of multilateral agreements and initiatives, especially in the context of Article 12 of COP 22 Paris agreement, and UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Broadening partnerships and international collaboration for initial and continuous education.

Resource mobilization in support of national education and training needs, and institutional development.

Collaboration with governments and other stakeholders in fostering career development and in shaping future role of meteorologists and hydrologists.